'Netanyahu is not bluffing on intention to strike Iran'

Ex-army official: PM "thinks it’s the 1930s. The Iranians are the Germans, and history has a sense of humor with 6 million Jews in Israel."

Netanyahu looking determined 370.
(photo credit:REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “is not bluffing” on his
intentions to strike Iran, should the Islamic Republic continue its nuclear
program for much longer, a former senior Israeli military official told The
Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

“Bibi’s not bluffing,” said the retired senior
official, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “He thinks it’s the 1930s.
The Iranians are the Germans, and history has a sense of humor with six million
Jews now in Israel.”

Since the UN General Assembly last month, Netanyahu
has assured journalists in the United States that he supports President Barack
Obama’s diplomatic overtures to Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, while also
calling him a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” not to be trusted.

Western
powers suspect Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, as it continues to
enrich uranium well beyond the grade required for any civilian nuclear
use.

The former senior official told the Post that Israeli intelligence
assesses Saudi Arabia would not wait “a minute” after Iran acquires a nuclear
weapon to build or buy one themselves, risking a nuclear arms race in the
world’s least stable region.

“The Saudis have the missile technology
already,” he said. “I’d be surprised if they don’t just take warheads from the
Pakistanis. They’ve already paid for them.”

Emphasizing the
importance of existing sanctions, the official said Iran would try to get the
financial pressures lifted with as few concessions as possible.

While
generally supportive of the prime minister’s policy, he said that the leadership
of Israel’s intelligence community has repeatedly warned Netanyahu against
striking and said that the tone of his speech to the UN last month was “a
mistake.”

“He’s not the commander-in-chief,” he added. “But he can achieve
consensus. And it can be done without leaks – it can be done.”